Former England international Chris Waddle delivered a mixed assessment of West Ham United playmaker Felipe Anderson on Saturday.
The mercurial Brazilian arrived in east London for a club record fee last summer. However, despite his obvious ability, his struggles with consistency have Waddle pulling his hair out.
“I like Anderson when he’s on his game,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live [27/04; 12:31]. “Unfortunately he’s been like West Ham with the majority of the players: very inconsistent.
“But when he’s on his game he’s a talent. He can go past players either side, he can score goals, we’ve seen that this season. But like his teammates he lacks consistency.”
OPINION
Waddle is pretty spot on here to be honest as many Hammers fans are likely just as frustrated with Anderson as the pundit. The former Lazio man has unbelievable talent, probably more than any player at West Ham, but he does need to improve his consistency. He enjoyed a phenomenal few months to start the campaign and was looking like one of the signings of the season. However, he then proceeded to essentially take several months off until returning to top form against Manchester United recently. Post-Christmas Anderson was one of the most underwhelming players in a claret and blue shirt and he was so frustrating to watch for the Hammers faithful. The talent has been there all along, but too often he seemingly takes games off and doesn’t play as well as we know he can. However, when he’s on his game he is very much a top talent, as Waddle says. This is only his first season in English football, of course, so perhaps the consistency will come in the next few years.
